Incubator



BEST AVAILABLE COPY March 30 1926. 1,578,657 7 I W.. E. GREER INCUBATORFiled Nov. 27, 1922 4 Shgets-$heet 1 Will-i. am 13- E T E ET March 301926. 1,578,657

w. E. GREER INCUBATOR Filed Nov. 27 1322 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I G venticnwillbe apparent during the cour'sengt Patented Mar. 30,

' STAT 5 r I nanivns'r sauna, oem bseieo l i i I mewmon.

Application filed November 27, 1922'. serial n eoa sse; I

To all whom t may concern";

Beit known that I, lVILnrA- I a citizen of the -Un1ted.States,- residingat Enos,- 1n the the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to incubators. The primary object of thisinvention is', the provision of an incubator which is selfusefulImprovements in Incubators, of which tails incidental to incubation.

A further andveryiinportant object of this invention is the provis on ofan. 1ncu-:-

bator embodying means for automatic shif ing and; airing of eggsdisposed therein. for incubation, at requlred intervals.

. Other objects and advantages of this in} the following detailed description. e In the accompanying drawings, tornnng a part ofthisspecifieation, and wherein snnilar reference characters designateacorrespending partsthroughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a perspective proved incubator. r x I 4 Figure 2 is aninterior plan view, partly in section, showingcooperating details ofthis invention.

igureg is a cross sectional VlQ'W, taken substantially on the line 33 ofFigure 2. p Figure 4 is a cross sectionalview,taken substantially on'the line 4-1 of Figure 2. Figure is a transverse,crossfseotional View,taken through the improved incubator housing adjacent thefioor thereof,Figure 6 is a fragmentary'cross sectional view of the imview, takenthrough the improved: incubator,

showing .more particularly the cooperating details whereby it -rn ay beperiodically aired: Figure 'Tis a transverse cross sectional view, takensubstantially.onfthe line 7 of Figure 6. f l

'- j 'Figures 8 and 9- are: fragmentary cross sectional views showingsteps incidental to' egg shifting as automatically accomplished by theimproved incubator. I r

In the drawings; wherein for' the purpose of illustration is shown butthe preferred embodiment of this invention, the letter A generallydesignates the improved lHQUk' bator, which may include a housing B; eggsupporting means (1;. heating means 1) egg airing means E; e hiftingmeans F 5 and V county of htarshall and State of Oklahoma, have inventedcertain new. and

- desired height.

ing means C.

v The hlouslng means G forv operation of the eggsuppdrte B is'of 'any'approved. I v

e ial, and preferably exteriolrly aner-enema;

of wood, and inte'riorly lined with beaver board- The. sameihchldesside-walls 10, I11; 12,. and 13', a bottom 14, and detaGhabIetop 15.. Itis preferredto provide aclosur'eanem-Q a ber 16,. asa part of the. sidewall l1,.wl 1icl 1,; 1 includes a transparent pane .l7 for visibilityReferring to the egg supporting means C, the sameis of novelconstructl'oni. and} in cludes a shaft 30, which, at its lower end; isrotatably supported. in an antifriction, bean.

ing 31* carried. centrally of the eam ng the upper reducedend 31. of theshaft 50. preferably extending. through a bearing ided, with the bottom'l l, forjsnp port g.

tl'iei nprovedincubator housing Bi ata' in the cover or cap 15 ofthe-housingB. I A 1 flat circular disc 35 isri'gidly affixed, as a'sleeve 36 to the shat-13 just upwardly andin spaced rel'ation'with the:floor 14 of. housing 13.. This disc may be. of metal;

and provided with relatively thin mesh was screening 38 thereon; thedisc "35and fits screening 38 having, oval shapedopenings 39transversely tl erethrough arranged in series concentrically ofthevdise35 for 'receiv- 'ing. the eggs 5L0 therein,"substantially asgi sillustrated in Figures 2', 7, Sandi) of"'the.. drawings;v The screening.38. maybeflcovered' by flannel or any approved material a1, and

in this respect. the screening and flannel 4'1 cooperate in receivingthe eggs 40""against liability of breakage incident'to shifting'action,which Wflhbe; subsequently described"! Itis'tobe noted, thatv when theeggs &0 are disposed in their pockets or Openings-39,..the same extendupwardly and below defined by the supporting disc 35..

Referring to hev heating.- ,means the same 1s ofnovel--arrangement,,jand3 very the plane eflici'ent in maintainingathe.compartment 20 ofi thehousiug B at the desired temperature,

normally 103 Fahrenheit. This heating arrangement contemplates theprovision of a vertical casing'45 at the lower end of which a lamp 46 oranalogous heating unit is disposed, the heat from which arises upwardlythrough the compartment 47 of the casing 45.

A hollow cylindrical shaped boiler 49 is preferably provided, rigid withthe casing 45, and extending axially at right angles thereof; the boiler49 providing an annular water receiving compartment 50, wh ch may beprovided with an approved filler opening and drain cock and having apassageway 51 longitudinally disposed therethrough open at both ends andin communn cation with the compartment 47 of the casing 45, forreceiving heat therefrom. A

metal jacket 53 is preferably provided, outwardly ofthe boiler 49 andannularly en- 'stantially as is illustrated in Figure 2 of thedrawings.

The casing 45, boiler 49, and its jacket 53 are all mounted exteriorlyof the housing B, preferably by bracket means 57, at the wall side 10Piping 58 is preferably disposed within the incubator compartment 20,just below and in'spaced relation w th respect to the detachable top 15,which may be sup ported by brackets 59 as to encircle the compartment20. The piping 58 at the juncture of the side walls 12 and 13, may bebent 1n U-shaped reduced diameter, as at 60, to

1 avoid details of the egg airing means E to be subquently described.Adjacent the housing wall 11, an inlet duct or conduit 61 is provided,which communicates the water compartment of the boiler 49 with thepassageway 63 of the heating tubing or V piping 58. An outlet conduit 64is similarly provided, adjacent the conduit 61, which 1 v likewisecommunicates the boiler compart ment 50 and the passageway 63 of thepipe 58. A partition 63 is provided between the inlet and outlet asshown in Figure 2. The operation of the heating fluid is thermosiphonic,and to this end the inlet conduit 61 is disposed relatively higher thanthe outlet conduit-64, so that the heated fluid of highest temperaturemay flow from the boiler compartment 50 into the tubing or piping 58 byway of the inlet 61, and in the direction indicated by the arrows in thedrawings, completely flowing about the piping 58 and outwardly. throughthe exit or outlet conduit 64 fol" return to the boiler names?compartment 50 for reheating. In this manner, the heating fluid ismaintained in motion for heating the incubator compartment 20, at aconstant temperature, as above mentioned. 7

As a safety factor, in the maintaining of constant temperature withln.the incubator compartment 20, it is preferred to provide a closure ordamper member 66 at the top of the heating casing 45, having a rod 67fixedly connected thereto, said rod being pivoted as at 68 intermediateits ends to a bracket 69, which may be affixed to the jacket 53 at thefree end thereof. A lever 70 is preferably oscillatively pivoted, as at71, intermediate its ends, and being connect- The operation of theheating system, in so far as the thermostat 73 is concerned, is obvious,since should the temperature within the compartment rise above thedesired temp' ratui*e, normally "103, expansion of the thermostat willrock thelever 70 so that the same will move the rod 67' upon its pivot68, and lift the damper or closure 66 off of the heating casing 45; Itis obvious that when the closure 66 is removed from the casing 45, theheat waves incident to the heating unit 46 will be dissipated eXteriorlyof the casing 45, and will not be directed through the heat jacket 53 asabove out-,

lined. Referring to the egg airing means E, the same preferablycomprises an. auxiliary housing 75, which is disposed within thecompartment 20 of the incubator A, includ ing an upper'section 76, whichmay be carried by the top 15' of the housing B; this section 76 defininga compartment or pa sageway 77 open therethrough and communicating withthe opening 25 in the housing top 15. A section 78 ofitheauxiliaryhousing 7 5 is also carried by'the' incubator bottom 14, and has thecompartment or passageway 79 therethrough communicating with the opening80 provided in the incubator bottom 14. The passageways 77 and 79 are,of course, in alignment, and it can suflicient inherent rigidity tomaintain a I discj35is disposedin intersecting relation with thepassageway provided by the airing proper position. Intermediate thefacing edges of the guard portions8l and 82, the

housing 7 5; During rotational movement ofthe egg supporting disc 35 bymeans of the operating device G to be subsequently described, the eggs40 will. pass from the heated compartment 20 into the airingcompartments ofthe airing housing sections 76 and '78.- ld ithi'n thesecompartments, fresh air is continually circulatin fso that the eggs 40disposed therein will be aired. ThefleXi ble flannel portions 81 and82'prevent excessive' escape'of heat from the compartment 20, and yetare sufficiently-flexible to permit passage of the eggs into the airinghousing 7 5, by flexing of the same. To facilitate the flexing of theflannel 'portionssl and82 incident to the eggs 40brushing thereagainst,itis preferred to vertically split said flannel portions inwardly oftheir facing edges, substantially as isillustrated in Figure 4- of thedrawings. It is apparent that in position within the airing housing- 75,as illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawings, the eggs to are aired fromabove and below inthorough manner. i

The egg shi'fting' means F principally comprises a U-shaped metal member90, which may" be attached a's'by flanges 91'to the inside surface ofthe housing floor 14.;

the same'havingan arcuate head portion 93 exteriorly faced with someyieldable material 94, as felt. -This member-'90 is disposed immediatelybelow the disc 35, and during 'tw'entyiour hours.

rotation of the latter, as will be subsequentslow movement, so that thedisc 85 may be:

rotated through 360, but once or twice every A convenient mechae msm isthat of providing a cable 96, wound spirally about the reduced end 31ofthe shaft30, and at its other end supporting a weight 97; said cable 96being trained over .a pulley 98'so'that the weight may be' suspendedadjacenta side of the housing B. To retard action of the weight 97, aclock mechanism 99 may be provided, the key end portion 100 of'w'hichmay be afiixed in j the shaft end 31,'so that as the clock runs down,the weight '97 is permitted to act in rotating of the shaft 30 foreffecting the slow motion of the disc 35. I

From the foregoing description ofthis- I partment as the egg 3.1Ari'ncub-atorcomprising a.

invention, it is" apparent that an" incubator has been provided, the eggsupporting means, of which is novel, and-of such compact arrangementastoprovidefor the supportof y y I a large number'of eggs on arelatively small area. Since it is preferred that the discmake tworevolutions every twenty-four."

hours, it is obvious that each egg will alred' wlthluthe airing'housing-tWLC6L- every twenty-four hours, and will likewise be shifted: by themeans F 'twiceevery; tWenty-four'hours. The'disc 35 may," course, becontrolled by the operating means G to move through-a'greater orlessnumber; Y 1

of revolutions in a predetermined time. The, normal period'of incubationis twenty-four;

days,'and the improved incubatordetails: so

necessitate attention once every-eightdaysz- For the first week, it ispreferred that the cooperatefin automatic manner, as toonly I i door 26be closed, and from the. firstweek onward to the nineteenth day beopened to thoroughlyair the compartment within, the A housing 75', and,at which time theclosure I 26 is againdisposed in shut relation.

Various changes in the shape, size andarrangement of parts, may be madeto the form" of ll'lVGIltlOIl herein shown and de 7' scribed,withoutdeparting froin-the spirit of the invention or the scope of theclaims.

claim: a V f 1. An incubator comprising a housing having a heatingchamber therein and an airing compartment communicating with saidheating chamber, egg supporting means rotatably mounted in said housingand having a portion positioned in said heating chamber and a portionin. said airing com partment, and means for rotating the egg supportingm)eans whereby the eggsmay be periodically moved through the airingcomtates.

supporting means r0 2. An incubator comprising a housing having aheating chamber therein, I rotary egg supporting means, and meansprovidmg an airing compartment positionedin operatlve relation .to asector of said egg supporting means an'djth-rough whlch SELlCl' eggswill :be moved. on said rotary support ing meansduringro-tationthereof.' 7

housing,

heating means for the interior of said housing, an airing casing openexteriorly of the housing, and egg supporting means movable through thechamber of said airing casing, the major portion of said egg sup-portingmeansf being disposed within said heating chamber 7 4. An incubatorcomprising a; housing, means for heating the compartment of saidhousing, an airing throughsaid housing compartment, and r0- tating eggsupportingmeans in the heating I 1 compartment having a portion thereofex 1 conduit extending tending into the airing conduit for egg air-' ingpurposes. Y 7

5. An incubator Comprising a housing having a heating compartmenttherein, means for heating said compartment, an airing :conduitextending through said housing compartment, egg supporting meansincluding a shaft, and a horizontally disposed disc ailixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said-disc extending for its major portionthereof disposed for travel through saidv airing conduit.

7 6. An incubator comprising a housing,

an eggsupporting disk rotatable within the housing, means for heatingsaid housing, cgglairing means in operative relation to a sector ofsaiddisk, and operating means for rotating of said egg supporting means tocause eggs carried thereby to travel through said egg airing means.

7. An incubator comprising a housing providing a heating compartmenttherein, an airingh'ousing carried within the heating compartment ofsaid incubator housing and providing a compartment open exteriorly ofthe incubator housing, an egg supporting disc rotatably carried Withinthe incubator housing having aportion thereof in movable intersectingrelation with the airing compart ment ofsaid airing housing, and meansfor oaeratin said e sua ortin means for b CED b compartment of saidhousing intermediate the top and bottom walls thereof, airing meansincluding compartment sections car-v ried by said top and bottom wallsand opening outwardly therethrough, said sections terminating in spacedrelation adjacent the upper and lower surfaces of said egg supportingdisc, and means for rotating said disc so that eggs carried thereby willbe periodically moved through the airng compartments of said sections.

10. An incubator comprising a housing, an egg supporting memberrotatably mounted Within said housing, and means mounted in said housingbelow said egg supporting member and adapted to engage the eggs andcause rotation of the. eggs to adjust the positions thereof as the eggspass over said means.

11. An incubator comprising a. housing having a heating compartment, adisc rotatably disposed within said heating com-. partment havingpockets therein whereby eggs disposed in said pockets will extend belowsaid disc, and a member carried within said housing having an upperarouate surface adapted for receiving the lower portions of said eggsthereagainst during movement of said disc, whereby the eggs may berolled for shifting their positions.

12; An incubator comprising a housing having an incubating compartmenttherein, means for heating said incubating compartment at a constanttemperature, egg sup porting means rotatably disposed within saidincubating compartment, means providing an airing compartment in saidincubator and disposed in operative relation to a sector of thesupporting means and adapted for periodically receivingeggs on said eggsupporting means as the egg supporting means rotates, and meanscooperating adjacent said egg supporting means for periodically shiftingthe position of eggs on said egg supporting means.

WILLIAM EARNEST GREEK.

